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25 people taken to hospital, 1 in critical condition, after Omaha's First National tower evacuation

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Updated: 10:10 PM CST Nov 8, 2018

25 people taken to hospital, 1 in critical condition, after Omaha's First National tower evacuation

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Updated: 10:10 PM CST Nov 8, 2018

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WEBVTT REPORTER: JULIE, ROB, FIREFIGHTERS SAY THE TOWER IS SAFE AND EMPLOYEES CAN RETURN TO WORK TOMORROW MORNING AT 6:00. AREA HOSPITALS TELL US ALL PATIENTS WILL SOON BE HOME. >> JUST REALLY TRYING TO GET TO THE ROOT CAUSE THAT LED TO THIS. REPORTER: A MYSTERIOUS ODOR FILLED THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK TOWER, FORCING 2,000 EMPLOYEES OUT AND INTO NEIGHBORING BUILDINGS. >> IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE’VE HAD SOMETHING THIS BIG. REPORTER: OMAHA FIRE AND EMS QUICKLY SET UP A TRIAGE IN THE DOUBLETREE HOTEL, EVALUATING 62 EMPLOYEES, AT LEAST 33 SEEKING TREATMENT FOR SYMPTOMS AT AREA HOSPITALS. >> LIGHT HEADEDNESS, HEADACHE, SCRATCHY THROAT, THE TWO THAT WERE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONCERNING HAD SOME WHEEZING. REPORTER: FIREFIGHTERS ARE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHAT CAUSED THE ODOR AND WHAT IT WAS, BUT KEVIN LANGIN WITH FIRST NATIONAL BANK BELIEVES THE SMELL CAME FROM THE EIGHTH OR NINTH FLOOR CALL CENTER. >> WE’RE REALLY LOOKING AT POTENTIALLY A COMBINATION THERE -- WE HAD THE WORK THAT WAS BEING DONE ON THE HVAC BUT WE ALSO HAVE A FAIR AMOUNT OF CONSTRUCTION WORK GOING ON ON BOTH THE EIGHTH AND NINTH FLOORS. IT INCLUDES CARPETING, PAINT, DRYWALL. REPORTER: FIRST RESPONDERS AND FIRST NATIONAL BANK EMPLOYEES PRACTICE EVERY YEAR FOR A CRISIS LIKE THIS. >> I’M VERY PLEASED WITH THE WAY THINGS WENT TODAY AND IT’S A TESTAMENT TO OUR PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE HAVE IN THE COMMUNITY, OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FIRST NATIONAL BANK, THE FACT THAT WE’VE BEEN THROUGH THIS THROUGH THE DRILL PROCESS BEFORE. WE KNEW WHO TO CALL FOR HELP. REPORTER: NOW, AFTER GOING FLOOR BY FLOOR TESTING FOR FUMES, FIREFIGHTERS THINK THE BUILDING IS SAFE. >> HAZMAT CREWS UTILIZED METERS TO MONITOR THE AIR QUALITY OF THE BUILDING AND REALIZED NO ALERTS ON THOSE METERS. REPORTER: FIRST NATIONAL BANK IS WORKING WITH A THIRD PARTY BUSINESS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE TOWER’S AIR QUALITY. THE OMAHA FIRE DEPARTMENT WILL WORK WITH OPD AND THE BANK TO EVALUATE TODAY’S RESPONSE AND DETERMINE ANY WAYS THEY CAN IMPROVE. REPORTING LIVE, TAYLOR BARTH, KE

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25 people taken to hospital, 1 in critical condition, after Omaha's First National tower evacuation

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Updated: 10:10 PM CST Nov 8, 2018

OMAHA, Neb. —

Authorities said 25 people were taken to a hospital for evaluation, one in critical condition, after a mandatory evacuation at the First National tower in downtown Omaha due to a strong odor in the building.

Omaha Fire Department Battalion Chief Scott Fitzpatrick said all of the victims are experiencing respiratory issues ranging from wheezing and coughing to difficulty breathing.

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Firefighters were called to the scene just before 9 a.m., and when crews arrived, they upgraded the call to a hazmat situation.

Officials said 2000 employees were evacuated. everyone has been removed and either taken to the Double Tree Hotel or other First National locations. They were allowed to go home later in the afternoon.

Omaha Fire Department set up its triage area inside the DoubleTree lobby, where about a half dozen paramedics were working to evaluate and treat 37 patients.

Fitzpatrick said medics have cardiac and respiratory drugs as well as oxygen and inhalers.

The patients in more severe condition were taken by ambulance to three area hospitals.

"It's pretty rare for us to have an event to this scale, it's happened before in our district but it's been awhile since we've had something this big," Fitzpatrick said.

Nebraska Medicine doctors say they were told by on-scene officials that people were likely suffering from hydrogen chloride gas exposure, although OFD has not confirmed that.

"With severe exposures it would lead to airway edema, potentially airway obstruction and it could be a fatal situation, at this point that doesn't appear to be the case," Dr. Mike Wadman with Nebraska Medicine said.

Emergency room nurses and physicians said during a news conference that each of the 16 patients treated at Nebraska Medicine are stable, and some were back at home Thursday night. None of the patients needed any mechanical help breathing, and most were treated with steroids or inhalers, according to Nebraska Medicine staff.

Firefighters called it a "painstaking process" to go through every floor of the building to test the air quality. By 3 p.m., they had no 'alerts' on their systems.

The spokesperson said several employees were complaining of feeling nauseous and sick. At first, officials evacuated the first 17 floors of building but eventually decided to evacuate the entire building.

"I think they recognized that they had a problem, which is the first thing. They did a two stage evacuation for safety," Dr. PJ Schnerts, OFD medical director said.

Fire Chief Dan Olsen can't say for sure what caused the strange odor and what made people sick, but they are still investigating.

"The root cause of this incident is under investigation but two areas of focus during the event included the HVA system of the building and construction products being utilized on the 9th floor," Olsen said.

First National Bank spokesman Kevin Langin said maintenance crews were working on a humidifier, while construction crews were doing renovations in the call center on the 8th and 9th floors.

First National, OFD and the police department conduct evacuation drills yearly to prepare for such incidents.

"I'm very pleased with the way things went today and it's a testament to our partnerships that we have in the community," Olsen said. "The fact that we've been through this drill process before, we knew who to call for help."

Employees were allowed to grab their personal belongings by 6 p.m. Work will resume first thing Friday morning.

This is a developing story, look back for updates on KETV.com and in the KETV mobile app.